


never, have i ever, touched a weed

by dixiestix



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crack, Marijuana, Recreational Drug Use, follows my dumbass headcanon that akira smokes weed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 06:38:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14467104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dixiestix/pseuds/dixiestix
Summary: Yu knew Akira was always doing something to challenge the law. It was never serious enough to actually get the police involved, but it was still nerve racking to be around him when he got that mischievous glint in his eyes.So Yu felt a more than a little uncomfortable when Akira had brought weed home with him.





	never, have i ever, touched a weed

Yu knew Akira was always doing something to challenge the law. It was never serious enough to actually get the police involved, but it was still nerve racking to be around him when he got that mischievous glint in his eyes. Akira had gone to jail twice, and both were for a unjust reason. He had been wary of authority ever since.

Yu didn’t miss the way his demeanor would shift in the presence of someone in the law system. How his mouth would almost turn into a scowl. The way his glasses obscured his eyes, hiding his deep rooted feelings of distrust and defensiveness. Yu had never seen the world through Akira’s lense, so there wasn’t much he could do to ease the tension in those situations without running the risk of sounding hypocritical. His first job choice was to be a lawyer, after all.

So Yu felt a more than a little uncomfortable when Akira had brought weed home with him. He didn’t even need to see it, he knew the smell. It was common knowledge that Akira would smoke weed on occasion. He had never done it at home, but he would come home seeming mellow and spaced out. It didn’t take much brain power to know he was on something. At least it was a safer option opposed to other drugs.

“‘Sup, Yu.” The raven-haired boy greeted. 

Yu wrinkled his nose. “You’ve been smoking again, haven’t you?”

“Correction: going to smoke again.” Akira landed on the couch next to him with a woosh. “But I actually wanted to try something this time.”

“Is that why you have it on your person?” Yu said, unamused.

Akira pulled out a bag full of the grass. “Look at you, Mr. Detective. Making accurate deductions as always.”

“It runs the family. But really, why do you have it here?” Yu could practically feel Dojima’s authoritative ghost hovering over him.

“Because,” Akira tossed one baggie onto the coffee table, and pulled out two more. “It’s about time you let loose for once.”

Yu pursued his lips. His whole life he had never even touched a drug of any kind. His parents probably would have beheaded him if he even mentioned it. He had grown up with the knowledge that drugs are bad and anyone who takes them are horrible people. That mentality was tested when he first met Akira, and toppled over when he heard about his experience with the police. He could still hear the lectures he would get from his dad about the deadbeats of society; that the law was always right. Akira was living proof of how broken and manipulative the law system was. 

But that didn’t mean he was all open arms about rebelling against it.

“You know I don’t do drugs.”

Akira snorted. “Not drugs. Marijuana is a plant, it’s used for medical purposes.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “Really. And what exactly is your reason?”

“I’m suffering from the common ailment of stress. But you look like you need it more than I do.” Akira jabbed.

“I can handle my stress just fine.”

“Tell that to the ten page essay you have to do for your economics class.”

Yu’s eye twitched. Akira’s grin deepened. “Regardless, I don’t need weed to relax. I stresscook, remember?”

“You cleared out half of the fridge making food that’s going to spoil in a week. Think about your poor wallet.” His words dripped with honey.

Yu folded his arms against his chest. “And what happens if I do agree?”

Akira pulled out rolling paper from his pocket. “Well, you’ll be able to chill out for a little while. Weed doesn’t kill, so you won’t die of a heart attack or whatever you’re thinking. And it might actually help you write your paper, if it makes you more productive.”

The last suggestion caught Yu’s attention like a hook. Could he really get all those pages done? He just barely had a page and a half diving into his reasoning for a democratic government. Making them expendable enough to stretch out for several pages was absolute agony. If he could limit the amount of hours he would have to sacrifice, then he would be able to live happily for a few days before moving onto the next project. It had been a while since he last hung out with his friends. He missed having time to himself.

Yu sighed deeply. “Alright, how do you do it?”

\---

The first hit was horrible. Yu had inhaled too much of the smoke and went into a coughing fit. Akira snickered at his failed attempt, smoking his own joint with ease. It had been a matter of figuring out how much he could take in before letting it out. He got better with each attempt, and it eventually became a routine. Breathe in, hold it, and breathe out. He got into a consistent rhythm, but didn’t feel any different.

Things started to slow down on his second blunt. Not a huge difference, but Yu certainly felt more relaxed. He could feel himself going up, but it wasn’t like being under the influence of alcohol. He didn’t black out like he had presumed, rather time became a haze. His mood lightened a bit as well. Overall, he just felt good. Like he had just sat in a bath full of essential oils.

Yu stopped counting after three blunts, but soon he and Akira had finished one bag. He felt light, like all his responsibilities had been lifted off his shoulders. They still existed, and he would have to deal with them later, but right now he just didn’t care. It was amazing.

“How’s it feel?” Akira asked, and Yu took a moment to process the question.

“It’s nice. I like it.” Yu simply said, words slurring slightly.

Akira might have been smirking, Yu couldn’t tell. “I knew it. You can thank me later.”

Yu didn’t try to combat that remark. He didn’t find much reason to. Instead, he rotated so his head hung from the edge of the couch. Being upside down was weird. He wondered what that would be like. If he were like a spider or something, and could walk on the ceiling. And the walls, too. Spiders are also weird, but in a cool way. They freak him out sometimes, but the way they see the world must be trippy. They can hang from webs and get down that way. From the ceiling. Like Spider-Man. Could Spider-Man hang from ceilings?

“Akira?”

“Hm?”

“Does Spider-Man hang from ceilings? Can he make webs?”

“Yeah, dude.”

Well that cleared that up, then. He would definitely wanna try being Spider-Man for a day. Maybe find a spider and make it bite him? Then he would be cured and get all those cool powers. He would have to learn to control them, though. He could fall from a building if he doesn’t aim his web-shooting hand correctly. But yeah, spiders are cool and that’s all that needed to be said.

A growling made Yu sit up in confusion. Was Teddie around? Did he somehow get in his house? It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, Teddie’s able to sneak in anywhere. But he doesn’t hear his fluffy, bombastic voice. So what could have made that sound?

Yu rubbed his stomach, which felt empty and growled lowly. When was the last time he ate?

“You got the munchies?” Akira asked, sitting up.

“Yeah, I’m hungry.” Yu tried to rotate right side but ends up falling off the couch. He attempted to shoot a web through his hand somewhere in between, but realized that he’s not Spider-Man which dampened his mood for a moment.

The raven-haired boy stood up, leaving him in the living room. “Let’s eat the stuff you stress cooked. Not like we’re gonna finish it before it spoils anyway.”

Yu stood up from the floor, feeling dizzy before getting his bearings. “Won’t we not be able to eat it all, though?”

“You underestimate the appetite of two stoned people. I’m pretty sure we’ll make a dent in it.”

\---

Yu really did underestimate the appetite of two stoned people, because together they finished a pot of yakisoba, some udon, and curry Akira had made earlier. He chugged the rest of his grape soda before chucking into the small pile of trash they had created during their binge. He let out a satisfied belch before sliding further on the tiled flooring.

“Not even gonna say excuse me? The Yu I know would be freaking out about that right now.” Akira playfully entertained.

“Well he’s not here right now.” Yu sighed contently. “I feel like writing. Where’s my laptop?”

Akira clicked his tongue. “Probably in your bedroom.”

“That’s far.” Yu whined.

“It really isn’t.”

“It is to me.” He flashed Akira a longing look.

Akira squinted. “I’m not getting your laptop for you, dude.”

Yu stared at him for a few long seconds, but backs down. “Fine, I’ll get it myself. Some friend you are.”

“‘Some friend you are’.” Akira mimicked tauntingly.

Yu promptly flipped him off before exiting the trashed kitchen.

\---

After smoking one more joint, Yu feverishly typed away at his keyboard. The words just seem to flow out of him, inspiration and motivation rejuvenating his strained spirit. A page and a half of content soon became six before he reaches a burnout point. He happily skimmed through the paragraphs upon paragraphs of details before shoving the laptop to the side.

“You finally finished?” Akira, who was curled up next to him on the couch, asked.

Yu stretched until he heard a pop. “Not finished. I got a lot done, though.”

“Good. Sober you will be thankful.”

Yu blinked blankly. “Which you do you mean?”

“Uh, pronoun you. But I guess it could go either way.” 

Yu hummed. This was nice. Lying down like this, just relaxing. He was sure he would hate being high, but it’s actually really therapeutic. He was in a place of comfort mentally, and having Akira here with him actually helped. He probably wouldn’t have the nerve to even trying smoking marijuana on his own. As stress inducing as he could be with his recklessness, this time it was warranted.

Flashbacks of the time he spent in Inaba flooded his brain. Times back then were simple. He  
would go to school, study, and hang out with his group of friends. Now they all had jobs to balance and responsibilities to maintain. Even Yosuke had lost some of his carefree attitude due to the grind of everyday adult life. They weren’t joking when they said high school were your last few years of freedom.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Akira.

“Just about my time in high school. I didn’t realize how good things were then.”

Akira shifted a bit. “Life went ahead and took all your time to do stupid shit, huh?”

“Yeah.” Yu breathed. “But that’s just how it is when you grow up.”

“You know, you can do that stuff even as an adult.” Yu stared at him flatly. “No, really. You just need to find time to fit it all in. It’s not like you surrender all your freedom once you leave high school.”

Yu sunk into the couch, feeling the familiar weight of an anchor pulling him down. He couldn’t tell if that was just his pessimism, or he was coming down from his high. “All my friends are busy with work and school.”

Akira ended up nestling into Yu’s lap, pushing his laptop to the side. “But they can’t always be busy. There’s no such thing as having no time. Unless you’re like a superstar or something.”

Yu silently grieved for Rise. “I guess.”

“I can’t speak for you personally, but my friends are pretty busy nowadays. One of them has a whole company to watch over. But we manage to find time for each other. It may not be a lot, but we make the most of it. Because that’s all you can do.” He subconsciously ran his hand through Yu’s hair. He didn’t seem to mind. “Life can be really shitty. But the trick to getting through is to live as much as you can. Don’t become a slave to the man, or however the saying goes.”

“You’re a really smart person, Akira.” Is the only thing Yu can say to that.

“I try.” The curly-haired boy half-shrugged. “We should watch a movie.”

Yu smiled at that idea. “Let’s watch a Disney film.”

Akira sat up excitedly, taking the discarded laptop. “Yeah! Let’s watch Aladdin.”

“I wanted to watch Hercules, though.”

“We can watch both back-to-back.” Akira compromised.

They finished off the rest of the weed in the last baggie, and passed out during Hercules.

\---

Yu woke up staring at the ceiling in dazed confusion. A long dead laptop rests on top of the couch, along with a abandoned box of crackers and two soda cans. He started to notice a weight on his chest. He wondered if Morgana fell asleep on him. That cat was always running off somewhere, and showed up some time later. But it felt too heavy to be him. He craned his neck to see a mass a curly, black hair. He processed the thing lying on him was Akira, and just barely managed to keep himself from jumping up.

The memories from the other day slowly trickled into his mind. Had they really spent that whole day smoking? Well, he did recall writing his paper, but what else had they done? Yu began to flush when more suggestive ideas infiltrated his mind. 

The boy resting on his chest shifted, before looking up at a frazzled Yu. He blinked a couple of times before giving him a small smirk. “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Not another word.” Yu warned. 

The shorter male sat up, running a hand through his hair as he yawned. “We should start cleaning up. I’m pretty sure we left a mess in the kitchen.”

“I can see some remnants of it.” Yu gestured to the mini trash heap on the couch before standing up.

Yu started with the living room while Akira migrated to the kitchen. He paused at the coffee table, seeing three empty bags. They really smoked a lot, didn’t they? But maybe three small bags weren’t considered a lot to most stoners. He threw the bags and leftover rolling paper in a black trash bag. 

He remembered everything that happened yesterday, to his surprise. It was fuzzy, but the memories weren’t missing. They had done a whole lot of nothing besides Yu writing his essay, which he was still hesitant to check. It could be good and only need a little revision, but it could also be horrible. Perhaps he should just keep it a paradoxical mystery and write another one. But the thought of starting all over again from scratch sent a chill down his spine.

He decided to give himself something else to do besides stew in his own dread and anxiety by helping Akira out. The curly haired boy had significantly cleaned the kitchen, working on washing the dirty dishes. Yu joined him awkwardly, putting away the clean dishes in the dish rack. It was silent besides the water running from the faucet, the sponge being scrubbed against the dirty dishes, and the clean ones being put away.

“Do you think you’ll try it again?” Yu almost missed the question entirely.

He puts a pot in the cabinet. “What do you mean?”

“Getting high. Do you want to try it again?” Akira had his glasses on, so Yu couldn’t make out his expression due to the glint of the light.

Yu paused in front of the cabinet. He still felt nervous knowing he had participated in the activity. Marijuana wasn’t exactly legal in Japan, and the consequences for being caught with it were intense. Seven to ten years of jail time, if he remembered correctly. Akira knew full well of the risk he’s taking by having it and ran with it. Yu can’t take that gamble again, for his soon-to-be employment in the police department and his own anxiety.

But the experience had been pleasant. He was able to relax for once and really let loose. The last time he had felt like that was the time he went to Iwatodai Port Island in high school. It brought back good memories that he didn’t have the time to reminisce on. 

No, that wasn’t it. He did have time. He just hadn’t managed it well enough.

“I guess.” Yu picked up the dishes that had been piling up since he spaced out. “But I’m not ready to jump back into it yet.”

Akira nodded. “I get that it makes you uncomfortable. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want, that just ruins the point.”

“Well, it does. But I think that’s just because it was made out to be a horrible thing in my childhood.” Yu puts a dish back. “And also because it’s illegal, that’s a problem too.”

“Alright.” Akira turned off the faucet, the sink now void of the dirty dishes. A smirk weaves its way into his lips, and Yu prepares himself for the snark comment. “Didn’t know you were such a rule breaker, Yu.”

“Shut up and dry your hands. We still have to clean up the rest of the trash.”


End file.
